hyperball writes: "Siegel gives a dissatisfied account of the new "e-society" as it emerges from the pre-2k society to whatever we are building for this century. The Salon account[Louis Bayard] convincingly stays away from Siegel's critique with regards to the likes of Gawker and YouTube... when he writes that "the Internet is possibly the most radical transformation of private and public life in the history of humankind,"... Knowledge is "devalued into information."... [Our interior lives are being] "packaged like merchandise," and "the sources of critical detachment are drying up, as book supplements disappear from newspapers and what passes for critical thinking in the more intellectually lively magazines gives way to the Internet's emphasis on cuteness, novelty, buzz, and pursuit of the 'viral."
So two things: technology is changing society/human relationships, is it for better or for worse?
and, should'nt./ be concerned not only with the latest technological advancements, but with the forecasting and construction of "the future"'s ideas? I mean, why do i read this in Salon, when./ readers should be able to be main contributors to this discourse."

Mike Rogers writes: "In a move that can only be described as "Copyright Insanity", Form Motor Company now claims that they hold the rights to ANY image of a Ford vehicle, even if it's a picture you took of your own car. The Black Mustang Club wanted to put together a calendar featuring member's cars and print it through CafePress, but an attorney from Ford nixed the project, stating that the calendar pics and "anything with one of (member's) cars in it infringes on Ford's trademarks which include the use of images of THEIR vehicles." Does Ford have the right to prevent you from printing images of a car you own?"